Eysenck’s incubation theory: how are phobias acquired?

This theory proposed by Hans Eysenck provides an explanation of the causes of phobias.

We have all experienced at one time or another that feeling of anguish, provoked by the presence of a real or imaginary danger. It is fear.

But... what happens when this fear becomes pathological? Then we are talking about a phobia. Eysenck's incubation theory arises to explain the acquisition of phobias.

What are phobias?

A phobia is an intense and persistent fear or anxiety, practically immediate and invariable with respect to an object or specific and objectively inoffensive situation, that is avoided or endured at the cost of intense discomfort, fear or anxiety..

A high percentage of the general population suffers from some type of phobia. Within them, there are different types (social phobia, separation anxiety,...). More specifically and according to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders), within the specific phobia, there are different specifications according to the feared stimulus:

• Animal.
• Specific situation.
• Natural environment.
• Blood-injection-harm.
• Situational.
• Other.

The most common phobia in the non-clinical population is specific phobia. In the clinical population, on the other hand, the most common phobia is panic disorder with agoraphobia. This type is the most severe and disabling of all types of phobias.

Acquisition of phobias

To understand what Eysenck's incubation theory is like, it is important to understand some ideas about the acquisition of phobias. some ideas about the acquisition of the phobias. Generally, phobias are acquired by direct conditioning, although they can also be acquired indirectly, i.e., by vicarious and semantic conditioning (when there are information relationships between stimuli).

As we have SEEN, most phobias are acquired by direct conditioning, although there are differences in the type of phobia:

Agoraphobia and claustrophobia.

These two types of phobias are more frequently acquired by past traumatic experiences.

Blood phobia

It is acquired mainly by vicarious conditioning. Here the transmission of information plays a very important role.

Animal phobia

These are the phobias most associated with indirect conditioning (vicarious conditioning in accordance with the proposal of the "disease avoidance" model, according to which sensitivity to disgust/contamination towards small animals is transmitted).

Eysenck's incubation theory

Eysenck's incubation theory is considered the "third great model of conditioning". It arose as a complement to the law of extinction and is a model based on classical conditioning. and is a model based on classical conditioning.

This theory explains why extinction does not occur in phobias, as well as the process of resistance to extinction. In turn, it considers two types of conditioning:

Type A conditioning:

Motivation is manipulated externallyand the unconditioned response (IR) and the conditioned response (CR) are different. For example, in salivation conditioning, the IR would be food intake, and the CR would be salivation.

Type B conditioning:

Here the motivation is generated by the conditioning paradigm itself, and is is less dependent on the motivational state of the organism. CR and IR are similar. For example, in the case of aversive conditioning.

According to this theory, anxiety is acquired and maintained by type B conditioning.

The theory argues that exposure to the conditioned stimulus (CS) (without the presence of the unconditioned stimulus (CS) does not cause extinction of the CR. Thus, the CR acts as a reinforcer because of its resemblance to the IR.

For phobia to be acquired, the strength of the CR must be high (intense), and the duration of exposure to the CI must be short.

The Napalkov effect

As a result of Eysenck's incubation theory the Napalkov Effect. This is the experimental demonstration that there can be a paradoxical increase (incubation) of an autonomic response (e.g. Blood pressure) to the successive presentation of the CE alone (in the extinction phase).

Alternatives to Eysenck's model

Some alternatives to Eysenck's incubation theory have been put forward. One of them is the reestablishment of fear proposed by Rescorla..

According to him, a mnesic representation of the EC-EI association is produced, and upon exposure to the EC, the representation of the EI is activated.

Another alternative is the re-evaluation of the EI proposed by Davey.. According to this other author, anxiety is incubated if after each presentation of the CE, the subject reevaluates the EI and overvalues it. The tendency to make this overvaluation will depend on:

• The predisposition to process the aversive aspects of an event.
• The tendency to discriminate and overestimate the intensity of one's own anxiety reactions.

Bibliographical references:

• Belloch, A.; Sandín, B. and Ramos, F. (2010). Manual de Psicopatología. Volume II. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.
• American Psychiatric Association (2013). DSM-5. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th Edition). Washington, DC: Author.
• Tortella, M. (2014). Los Trastornos de Ansiedad en el DSM-5, 110. Medicina psicosomática y psiquiatría, revista iberoamericana de psicosomática.